This article is an op-ed by senior Drew Foley. All of the opinions and viewpoints expressed within the article are solely that of the author and may not reflect the beliefs of The Forest Scout newspaper.
One of the best things about high school–especially after graduating from middle school–is the freedom. At DPM or LBMS, SMS or NSCD, the closest thing you had to free time was lunch and recess. Yet, when you enter high school you enter the world of study halls and free periods. These times allow kids to get a head start on their homework, study for tests, or simply relax from a long day of learning. If you are one of the luckier students, you may have a study hall first period or 8th period, allowing you to manage your work at the beginning or end of each day. In addition to having the time to get work done, this benefit is also seen as an opportunity to either sleep in or leave early from a long day of work. However, these privileges are now being revoked as of the 2017-18 year. No matter if you have study hall at the beginning of the day or the end, you will not be able to leave, even if you plan on just staring at your phone during that time.
Regardless of where you attended middle school, everyone heard stories about LFHS. Some of the more acclaimed details you heard about student life at LFHS were the benefits of study halls and free periods and the relaxed approach the school took when you were able to be called out. Kids could either get work done and study, take the time to relax, or even go home to collect themselves. Being able to decide what do with their free time in school gave every student a sense of control among the hectic work load that is, at times, high school at LFHS.
The school has now implemented a new “Attendance Procedure.” This procedure includes the implementation of “Senior Study Halls”; in fact, senior free periods are now a portion of LFHS’s past (except in the extenuating circumstance that your free period is attached to your lunch period). Seniors will now have to report to a study hall instructor and scan in and out of their scheduled period. In addition to that, seniors will not be allowed to go off campus during their study halls unless, as I mentioned prior, their lunch period and study hall are directly connected in their school day schedule.
LFHS released a presentation and supplementary information on why they are enforcing these new rules. In their presentation they stated that students are required 300 minutes of instructional time in a school day. This is also a rule of the Illinois State Board of Education that holds all public and private schools accountable. However, in an average school day at LFHS, students are on the campus for 425 minutes. They also emphasized that study halls do count towards the 300 required minutes, yet they could also be counted towards the 125 minutes students are not required instructional time. In essence, this means that free periods could still be implemented for seniors–as well as study halls being less strict on 1st and 8th period attendance–but the school has chosen a different approach.
Along with strict attendance in study halls, LFHS is only allowing 9 non permissible absences per semester. Things such as doctor’s appointments, orthodontist appointments, or any other sort of non-school appointment counts towards those 9 absences. If a student is sick, the absence will not be permissible unless a doctor’s note is provided or hospitalization occurs. The only permissible absences allowed are serious circumstances such as family death, serious illness, or things facilitated through the school, such as visiting your counselor, student support groups, field trips, etc.
LFHS has always cared about its students and their time. The school is hoping that these new procedures will encourage students to get more work done in their study halls as well as discourage parents from calling out their children from classes for personal, preferential reasons. How will students and parents react to these new rules? As the first partial week of school has now begun, one won’t have to wait long to observe the reactions.
